NITRILE

NITRILE

A nitrile is any organic compound that has a -C≡N functional group. The prefix cyano- is used interchangeably with the term nitrile in industrial literature. Nitriles are found in many useful compounds, including methyl cyanoacrylate, used in super glue, and nitrile butadiene rubber, a nitrile-containing polymer used in latex-free laboratory and medical gloves. Organic compounds containing multiple nitrile groups are known as cyanocarbons.

Inorganic compounds containing the -C≡N group are not called nitriles, but cyanides instead. Though both nitriles and cyanides can be derived from cyanide salts, most nitriles are not nearly as toxic.

Synthesis

Industrially, the main methods for producing nitriles are ammoxidation and hydrocyanation. Both routes are green in the sense that they do not generate stoichiometric amounts of salts.

Ammoxidation

In ammonoxidation, a hydrocarbon is partially oxidized in the presence of ammonia. This conversion is practiced on a large scale for acrylonitrile

CH₃CH=CH₂ + 3/2 O₂ + NH₃ → NCCH=CH₂ + 3 H₂O

A side product of this process is acetonitrile. Most derivatives of benzonitrile as well as Isobutyronitrile are prepared by ammoxidation.

Hydrocyanation

An example of hydrocyanation is the production of adiponitrile from 1,3-butadiene:

CH₂=CH-CH=CH₂ + 2 HCN → NC(CH₂)₄CN

From organic halides and cyanide salts

Often for more specialty applications, nitriles can be prepared by a wide variety of other methods. For example, alkyl halides undergo nucleophilic aliphatic substitution with alkali metal cyanides in the Kolbe nitrile synthesis. Aryl nitriles are prepared in the Rosenmund-von Braun synthesis.

Cyanohydrins

The cyanohydrins are a special class of nitriles that result from the addition of metal cyanides to aldehydes in the cyanohydrin reaction. Because of the polarity of the organic carbonyl, this reaction requires no catalyst, unlike the hydrocyanation of alkenes.

Dehydration of amides and oximes

Nitriles can be prepared by the Dehydration of primary amides. Many reagents are available, the combination of ethyl dichlorophosphate and DBU just one of them in this conversion of benzamide to benzonitrile:

Two intermediates in this reaction are amide tautomer A and its phosphate adduct B.

In a related dehydration, secondary amides give nitriles by the von Braun amide degradation. In this case, one C-N bond is cleaved. The dehydration of aldoximes (RCH=NOH) also affords nitriles. Typical reagents for this transformation arewith triethylamine/sulfur dioxide, zeolites, or sulfuryl chloride. Exploiting this approach is the One-pot synthesis of nitriles from aldehyde with hydroxylamine in the presence of sodium sulfate.

• from aryl carboxylic acids (Letts nitrile synthesis)

Sandmeyer reaction

Aromatic nitriles are often prepared in the laboratory form the aniline via diazonium compounds. This is the Sandmeyer reaction. It requires transition metal cyanides.

ArN₂⁺ + CuCN → ArCN + N₂ + Cu⁺

Other methods

• A commercial source for the cyanide group is diethylaluminum cyanide Et₂AlCN which can be prepared from triethylaluminium and HCN. It has been used in nucleophilic addition to ketones. For an example of its use see: Kuwajima Taxol total synthesis